Oak Institute: Human Rights Fellowship, 01/01

2001 Focus: Gender and International Human Rights

The Oak Institute for the Study of International Human Rights at Colby College is soliciting nominations for the Oak Human Rights Fellowship for the fall of 2001.

The Oak Fellowship offers an opportunity for prominent practitioners in international human rights to take a sabbatical leave from their work and spend a semester (September - December 2001) as a scholar-in-residence at the College. This provides the Fellow time for reflection, research, and writing. Following the period of the award, it is expected that the Fellow will return to her or his human rights work. For the fall of 2001, the Oak Institute seeks a practitioner in the field of gender and international human rights. Possible areas of interest include but are not limited to: the international sex trade, domestic violence, women and labor rights, rape as a form of war crime, struggles related to sexuality/sexual orientation, among others. We especially encourage applications from those who are currently or were recently involved in on-the-ground work at some level of personal risk.

The Oak Fellow's responsibilities include some collaborative teaching with members of the Colby Faculty, ongoing meetings with student discussion groups, and assistance in shaping a lecture series associated with the Fellow's area of expertise. The Fellow is also expected to participate in the intellectual life of the campus to enable our students to work and study with a professional in the field.

The Fellow will receive a stipend and College fringe benefits plus round-trip transportation from the Fellow's home site, housing for a family, use of a car, and meals on campus. The Fellow will also receive research support, including office space, secretarial support, computer and library facilities and a student research assistant.

Nominations for the Oak Fellowship for the fall 2001 semester should be sent to:

Professor Mary Beth Mills

Anthropology Department

Colby College,

Waterville, Maine 04901

(fax: 207-872-3474 / 3752; e-mail: oakhr@colby.edu;

phone207-872-3813/3683).

NOTE:Completed applications from nominees must arrive no later than January 10, 2001. Please ensure that nominations reach the Institute with sufficient time for us to forward applications to nominees and for nominees to meet the application deadline.

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THE OAK HUMAN RIGHTS FELLOWSHIP

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

ELIGIBILITY

1. For whom is the Oak Human Rights Fellowship targeted? The Oak Human Rights Fellowship is designed for human rights professionals doing on-the ground work at some level of personal risk.

2. Why look for practitioners doing on-the-ground work at personal risk? This is our mandate from our donors, the Oak Foundation, which is based in Geneva. Their model was a Turkish woman trained at the International Center for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims in Copenhagen (which they also support) who lobbies against torture and other inhuman prison conditions despite death threats and harassment. Our first two Oak Fellows were a Pakistani journalist who was jailed for his reporting on child bonded labor and a Congolese activist who founded an NGO to protect civilians from political violence in one of the most war-torn parts of the eastern Congo near the Rwandan border. The rationale is that these are the people who most need a respite from difficult front-line duties for the purposes of reflection, writing, and communicating their work to the campus community.

3. What of candidates who did on-the-ground work at personal risk, but are not doing so currently, either because they are in exile or have moved on to other work?

That is a matter for the discretion for the Oak Selection Committee. It would depend upon how recently a candidate was working on the front lines and whether the candidate's current work was still in the human rights field.

4. Does the Oak Fellowship provide a graduate degree program or post-graduate courses in international human rights? No. The Oak Fellowship is a faculty position. It is not a program for students or trainees. Colby College is an exclusively undergraduate institution and does not offer graduate or post-graduate training. While the Oak Fellow is free to take any courses offered at the College, his or her primary responsibility is to teach about human rights issues in his or her area. For other academic human rights programs, check our links page at http://www.colby.edu/oak/links.shtml.

5. Does the Oak Fellowship provide training for human rights practitioners?

No. The Oak Institute does not provide any training programs. For those interested in training programs, the best known is at Columbia University's Center for the Study of Human Rights (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/humanrights/).

6. Does the Oak Fellowship provide a scholarship for an undergraduate degree?

No. However, under a separate program, Colby College does provide an Oak Scholarship for international undergraduate students, two of which are designated for students who have been victims of human rights abuses. That program is run out of the Admissions Office, not the Oak Institute. For more information, see http://www.colby.edu/oak/scholarship.html.

7. Are there any academic prerequisites?

No.

8. Is there any age requirement?

No.

9. Is there any citizenship requirement?

No.

10. Are those working on human rights issues within the United States eligible?

The Fellowship is designed for people doing human rights work outside the United States. A U.S.-based candidate might be eligible if (a) his or her base of operations was in the U.S. while substantial work was done abroad, or (b) if he or she worked on an issue in the United States and other countries.

11. Do candidates have to come from the country in which they are working or can they be outsiders working for governmental and non-governmental organizations?

Both those indigenous to the area and outsiders are theoretically eligible as long as they meet the requirement of doing work on the ground at some level of risk.

12. Is there an English fluency or proficiency requirement?

While the Oak Fellow can teach or write in a language other than English, a good level of verbal proficiency in English is required for the Fellowship.

B. NOMINATIONS

1. How do I nominate someone?

Nominations should be sent to the Director or Associate Director of the program at oakhr@colby.edu or via fax at (207) 872-3474 or via postal mail to Eliza Denoeux, Associate Director, Oak Institute for the Study of International Human Rights, Lunder House, Colby College, Waterville, ME 04901.

NOTE: Please inform the Oak Institute of your nomination in time for the candidate to complete the necessary application forms by the deadline. For the Fall 2001 Fellowship the application deadline is January 10, 2001.

2. What information should nominators provide? At a minimum, nominators should provide contact information (fax, email, or postal address). We would then inform the candidate of your nomination and forward the application materials.

3. Should nominators provide a detailed letter explaining why he or she nominated a particular candidate?

Optional, though strongly recommended. If a detailed letter of nomination is provided, it could serve as one of the letters of reference.

4. Can someone nominate him or herself?

Yes. Self-Nomination is acceptable.

C. APPLICATIONS

1. What application materials are required for a candidate's dossier?

We require three items:

(a) A completed application form, which also requires a personal statement.

(b) Your most recent resume.

(c) Two letters of reference.

2. How can I obtain the application form? You can either contact the Oak office (oakhr@colby.edu or 207-872-3813) or access applications on-line at http://www.colby.edu/oak/app.shtml.

3. What information should I provide in the essays?

The Oak Institute has a dual mission of providing a respite for

practitioners doing important and difficult work and making a

contribution to increasing awareness of human rights issues on campus.

The essays provide you an opportunity to speak to the nature of your

work and what you are likely to do when in residence. NOTE: For the Fall

2001 Fellowship, please discuss how your work relates to the field of

gender and international human rights.

4. Should I send other materials about my human rights work and the work

of my organization?

Optional, but recommended. Anything that gives the selection committee a

better idea regarding the kind of work in which you are involved is

highly desirable.

5. Should an applicant send publications?

Not necessarily. This is not a research or traditional academic

position. On the other hand, if the publications speak to the kind of

work you have done or the likely contribution you might make on campus,

the applicant should feel free to include them.

6. Can applications be sent via fax or e-mail?

Yes. Applications can be submitted by fax: 207-872-3474 or by e-mail

either as an attachment or in the body of the message. Please, do not

send scanned images of your application form.

7. Must the application be written in English?

Yes. The Personal Statement must be written in English, though you can

provide materials written in another language.

8. How restrictive is the deadline?

The deadline is very restrictive. We must receive all of the applicants

materials by January 10, 2001. If you come from a part of the world

where the mail to North America is slow, we strongly recommend that you

email or fax your application or send it by an international courier.

D. TERM OF RESIDENCE

1. What is the term of the Oak Fellowship? The Oak Fellow is in residence during our fall semester, which lasts from September through December.

2. Can a Fellow stay for a longer or shorter period, or for a period that does not correspond to a traditional academic semester? Possibly, depending upon the circumstances. We may be able to provide office space for a longer stay, but could only provide salary and benefits for the four month period. Shorter stays are also possible and we would negotiate a pro-rating of the stipend. If a candidate can not be in residence for the traditional September through December semester, he or she should indicate as much on the application form.

E. RESPONSIBILITIES

1. What kind of teaching responsibilities are expected of the Oak Fellow?

We expect some kind of regular interaction with students. The Oak Fellow is expected to hold regular meetings with student discussion groups focused on human rights. To facilitate these meetings, students enroll in a one-credit, ungraded discussion section to be led by the Oak Fellow; meetings and times are determined early in the Fall semester. Interested Fellows are encouraged (but are not required) to teach a formal course or to collaborate with College faculty members by team teaching. The Fellow would also provide guest lectures in courses on subjects that relate to her or his work.

2. What other responsibilities does the Oak Fellow have? The Oak Fellow is expected to give a talk to the campus community early in the semester.

In addition, the Fellow is expected to be an intellectual presence on campus, giving and attending human rights lectures, working with students, and giving talks in the community.

3. What of the Oak Lecture Series?

The Oak Fellow will assist the Oak Institute in inviting outside speakers for lectures, panels, debates, films, and other events highlighting human rights issues in the Fellow's area of expertise.

F. STIPEND AND BENEFITS

1. What is the stipend for the fellowship? Total compensation for the semester is $30,000, which includes both the salary and benefits.

2. Is health care included?

Yes. The Oak Fellow will be on the Colby College health plan while in residence.

3. What about transportation from the Fellow's base of operations? We will cover round-trip transportation for the Oak Fellow and his and her family.

4. What of housing expenses?

The Institute will provide housing for the Fellow during the semester in residence. We may also be able to provide housing for an orientation period of up to one month before the semester starts.

5. What of transportation while in Waterville? The College will provide for a rental vehicle while the Fellow is in residence.

6. What of eating arrangements?

The College will provide the Fellow with a pass so he or she can eat in the dining halls free of charge. The Fellow will be on his or her own for meals off campus.

7. What kind of support will the Oak Fellow have for teaching and research?

The College will provide the Fellow with use of a computer, access to email and the internet, telephone, fax, secretarial support, library privileges, and a 10-hour per week student assistant.

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More information - including

APPLICATION FORM- is available on the Institute's Web site at

http://www.colby.edu/oak.

We plan to announce the final selection by March 30, 2001.

Mary Beth Mills

Associate Professor of Anthropology and

Director, Oak Institute for the Study

of International Human Rights

Colby College

Waterville, ME 04901

Tel: 207-872-3813/3683

Fax: 207-872-3474

email: memills@colby.edu